The two Houses of Parliament, are based in a magnificent Victorian Gothic building called the Palace of Westminister. Tours of the Palace are available year round and when the two Houses are in session you can view debates from the public gallery.

There are over 1200 rooms in the Palace, and the whole place is under heightened security, so you have to take an organised tour. When the Houses are in session, you must arrange for a free ticket from your MP. However, in the summer when the people who run the country take a massive six week break, you can queue up for tours on the day.

When it comes to viewing debates, there is hardly ever competition for space in the Lords, a shame since this is the livelier and more intellectual of the chambers. On the odd day there may be no room for you because a big story is breaking, but most of the time you can queue up and enter the public gallery for free in a relatively short time.